LDOS vs MMS: Which Is the Better Buy in 2026?
Last updated August 2026
Short answer
LDOS is the larger of the two ($14.54B market cap): the incumbent the market prices for continued execution (8.82x forward earnings, beta 0.55). MMS is the smaller challenger ($2.90B), cheaper on forward earnings (6.61x): more room to run, but more to prove. The real question is which set of drivers you believe, and whether owning one (or both) leaves you over-concentrated.
LDOS vs MMS: the tie-breaker metrics
Same yardstick, side by side (as of August 2026). Valuation lined up like this is most meaningful for two names in the same corner of the market, which these are. Figures are approximate; verify before investing.
| Metric | LDOS | MMS | What it tells you |
|---|---|---|---|
| Market cap | $14.54B | $2.90B | Size. The larger name is the incumbent; the smaller has more room to grow and more to prove. |
| Forward P/E | 8.82 | 6.61 | Valuation on next year's expected earnings, the same yardstick for both. Lower is cheaper for that growth; higher means the market is paying up. |
| Trailing P/E | 10.57 | 8.18 | Valuation on the last 12 months. A big drop from trailing to forward means the market expects earnings to jump, so more growth is already in the price. |
| Beta | 0.55 | 0.59 | Volatility vs the market. Above 1 swings harder than the index; below 1 is steadier. Higher beta means bigger drawdowns to hold through. |
| Price vs 52-week range | 16% of range | 5% of range | Where today's price sits between the 52-week low and high. Near the high is momentum with less margin of safety; near the low is out of favor or a discount, depending on why. |
| Price / book | 2.90 | 1.73 | How much you pay over book value. Very high can signal an asset-light, high-return business or a rich price. |
Reading it: MMS is the cheaper of the two on forward earnings, but cheaper is not the same as better. Pair the valuation with growth (how far the forward P/E sits below the trailing P/E) and risk (beta) before you decide.
Before you buy: how LDOS and MMS affect your concentration
The metrics above tell you which is the marginally better business. The bigger risk for most people is not picking the slightly worse stock, it is over-concentrating. LDOS and MMS share themes, so owning both, or adding either to what you already hold, can quietly push a large share of your portfolio into one bet.
This is the part a generic comparison page cannot answer, because it depends on what you own. Connect your brokerage and Walnut shows your real, combined LDOS and MMS exposure, flags overlap with your existing positions, and tells you if adding one would tip you past a concentration you are comfortable with, read-only by default, with your login staying at your broker. Walnut is not an investment adviser.
What does Leidos Holdings (LDOS) do?
Leidos Holdings is a large government services and technology contractor that builds and runs mission systems for U.S. federal agencies and allied governments. Its work spans intelligence and digital modernization, cybersecurity, defense systems, homeland security (including airport and border screening technology), and health services such as medical exams and health IT. Roughly the bulk of its revenue comes from the U.S. government, making it a prime contractor on long-duration programs rather than a commercial-product company.
What does Maximus (MMS) do?
Maximus is a tech-enabled services company whose customer is almost entirely the government. Its three segments are U.S. Federal Services (~$721 million of revenue in the June 2026 quarter), U.S. Services (~$418 million) and Outside the U.S. (~$140 million). Work spans call centers and eligibility processing for Medicaid, CHIP and the ACA marketplaces, medical disability examinations for the Department of Veterans Affairs, employment and welfare-to-work programs in the United Kingdom, and a growing block of automation and AI-enabled case handling. Federal agencies supplied roughly 55 percent of trailing revenue, state agencies roughly a third (New York alone is about 11 percent), and international governments about 11 percent. Just under 60 percent of revenue sits on performance-based contracts, which is where both the margin upside and the volume risk live.
LDOS vs MMS: how do they differ?
Both fit overlapping themes, but they are not interchangeable. The useful comparison is which set of drivers and risks you want exposure to.
- LDOS drivers: Large backlog and revenue visibility; Margin expansion and cash generation.
- MMS drivers: Margin expansion from automation, not from growth; Federal Services carries the profit pool.
Which fits which kind of investor
A faster-growing, richer-valued name usually swings harder, so it suits a longer horizon and a higher tolerance for volatility; a steadier, more cash-generative business suits a more conservative or income-minded investor. The honest test is which set of risks you could hold through a drawdown: The overwhelming majority of Leidos revenue comes from the U.S. For MMS, customer concentration is the defining exposure: federal and state agencies supply essentially all revenue, and the August 2026 guidance cut came not from lost business but from a customer-directed contract modification on one major federal program worth about $0.35 per share per quarter.
LDOS or MMS: which should you pick?
Growth-minded investors who believe the theme has years to run tend to accept the richer multiple for more upside; value-minded investors lean toward the cheaper forward earnings and steadier profile. Pick LDOS if you believe its drivers more; MMS if you believe its. Many investors hold both, but since they share themes, that is a concentrated bet, not diversification. Decide deliberately and check overlap. For the full detail, see the LDOS and MMS guides.
LDOS vs MMS: the full fundamentals
LDOS. In its most recent quarter (fiscal Q1 2026, ended early April 2026), Leidos posted about $4.4 billion in revenue, non-GAAP EPS of roughly $3.13, and adjusted EBITDA margin near 14%, and it raised full-year guidance. The stock trades at a low double-digit trailing P/E, a discount to the broader market that reflects its slow-growth, government-dependent profile. Figures are approximate and change with new filings and price moves.
MMS. Fiscal 2026 guidance calls for revenue of ~$5.2B to ~$5.35B, adjusted diluted EPS of ~$7.90 to ~$8.20, adjusted EBITDA margin near 13.7 percent and free cash flow of ~$425M to ~$475M. At roughly ~0.56 times sales and ~6.5 times EV/EBITDA on an enterprise value near ~$4.57B, the market is applying a valuation more typical of a declining business than of one guiding to record adjusted earnings. Reconciling those two requires a view on federal contracting policy rather than on the income statement.
Headline figures (approximate, April 2026): LDOS shows revenue (ttm) ~$17.5B, fy2026 revenue guidance ~$18.0B to $18.4B, latest quarter revenue ~$4.4B (up ~4% YoY), total backlog ~$48B; MMS shows revenue (ttm) ~$5.25B, net income (ttm) ~$371M, diluted eps (ttm) ~$6.77, market cap ~$2.90B.
The bottom line: LDOS vs MMS
LDOS and MMS are related but distinct: same themes, different businesses and risks. Neither wins in the abstract; the right pick is whichever thesis you actually believe, sized so you are not over-concentrated in one theme. Walnut can show your combined LDOS and MMS exposure against your real portfolio. It is not an investment adviser.
Wondering how LDOS or MMS fits the portfolio you already own? Walnut is an AI investing app that connects your brokerage read-only and answers questions like that about your actual holdings: overlap, concentration, and how each position tracks the S&P 500. Compare the best AI portfolio analyzers or see the best AI investing apps in 2026.
Investing in Leidos Holdings with AI
Connect the broker you already use and ask Walnut's AI how LDOS fits what you actually hold: whether you own it already through a fund, what it would do to your concentration, and how it has tracked the S&P 500. Read-only by default, and you approve anything before it reaches your broker.
FAQ
What is the difference between LDOS and MMS?
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Leidos Holdings is a large government services and technology contractor that builds and runs mission systems for U.S. Maximus is a tech-enabled services company whose customer is almost entirely the government. They show up together because they share investment themes, but they are different businesses, so the better fit depends on which thesis you are expressing.
Is LDOS or MMS the better stock?
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Neither is universally better. LDOS is the larger incumbent; MMS is the smaller challenger and looks cheaper on forward earnings. Walnut is informational, not investment advice. Compare what each does, the tie-breaker metrics above, and the risks, then decide which fits your thesis and what you already own.
Which is cheaper, LDOS or MMS?
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On forward P/E (as of August 2026), LDOS trades at 8.82x and MMS at 6.61x, so MMS is the cheaper of the two on next year's expected earnings. A lower multiple is not automatically the better buy: a richer valuation can be justified by faster growth, and a lower one can reflect real risk. Weigh the multiple against how fast each business is compounding.
Should you own both LDOS and MMS?
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Because they share themes, owning both concentrates you in that theme. That can be intentional (a focused bet) or accidental (less diversification than it looks). Walnut can show your combined exposure across both, and whether adding either over-concentrates you, before you buy.
What are the risks of LDOS vs MMS?
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LDOS: The overwhelming majority of Leidos revenue comes from the U.S. government, so budget delays, continuing resolutions, sequestration scenarios, and shifting administration priorities can directly pressure results. Contracts are frequently recompeted, and losing a large program or seeing an award protested can create lumpy revenue swings. Margins can be squeezed on fixed-price and cost-reimbursable work if execution slips or labor costs rise. The company also faces growing competition from both traditional peers and large commercial cloud and AI firms moving into federal work. Finally, its modest valuation reflects limited growth, so multiple expansion is not guaranteed even if execution stays solid. MMS: Customer concentration is the defining exposure: federal and state agencies supply essentially all revenue, and the August 2026 guidance cut came not from lost business but from a customer-directed contract modification on one major federal program worth about $0.35 per share per quarter. Program-level policy shifts affecting Medicaid, CHIP or the ACA marketplaces can move whole segments without any operational failure at Maximus. On the legal side, Maximus Federal Services is a defendant in consumer class actions arising from the 2023 MOVEit file-transfer breach, now centralized as a multidistrict litigation in the District of Massachusetts where the company was named a bellwether defendant; roughly half the claims against it survived a July 2025 motion to dismiss and are in discovery, a related Florida state action (Taylor v. Maximus Federal Services) is stayed, and an amount has been accrued. No pending securities-fraud class action is disclosed in the Legal Proceedings item of the latest 10-Q. Leverage is meaningful, with gross debt of ~$1.65 billion after a $325 million term loan upsize in May 2026, and the Outside the U.S. segment is only guided to break even for the full year.
Walnut is informational, not investment advice. This page is descriptive and not a recommendation to buy or sell LDOS or MMS; figures are approximate and dated (as of August 2026). Verify current data before investing.